


So I Like Your Dog

by helloyesIamtrash



Series: Inked at Midnight [11]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dogs, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Soulmate Tattoos, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Whoa, all fluff, but lil doggos, family OCs - Freeform, kyoutani kentarou is bad at feelings, kyoutani's family is nice for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 07:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7609771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloyesIamtrash/pseuds/helloyesIamtrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Though no one knows how or why, at midnight on a person’s 16th birthday, they get writing on their wrist, almost like a tattoo. This writing, whatever it says, has something to do with your soulmate. It’s usually something like the first thing they say to you after it appears, or an inside joke you two will have, maybe a phrase they say a lot. Simply a push in the right direction, fate’s little nudge-nudge wink-wink about what future you have in store. This is the story of what happened on Yahaba's 17th birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So I Like Your Dog

**Author's Note:**

> No, the summary isn't a typo, it's his seventeenth.   
> I love these two so much Kyoutani is my favorite little ball of rage and social awkwardness I relate to him and his eyeliner is better than mine will ever be just saying   
> Hope you guys enjoy~!

Though no one knows how or why, at midnight on a person’s 16th birthday, they get writing on their wrist, almost like a tattoo. This writing, whatever it says, has something to do with your soulmate. It’s usually something like the first thing they say to you after it appears, or an inside joke you two will have, maybe a phrase they say a lot. Simply a push in the right direction, fate’s little nudge-nudge wink-wink about what future you have in store. 

It was Yahaba’s seventeenth birthday, and he was sitting on the grass at his neighborhood park, soaking in the moonlight as his dog, a golden retriever named Usagi, rested her head on his lap.

Yahaba had a nice seventeenth birthday, he supposed. The team had all collectively wished him a happy birthday by shoving a cream puff in his face (instead of a cake). After trying and failing to kill Hanamaki and Matsukawa, he thanked the team for the gesture. Kyoutani had even come, a small snort escaping him when he saw the baked good hit Yahaba’s face. 

He was coming more frequently to practice, as of late. It was strange, at first. The first time he came back, he saw the way Oikawa’s eyes lit up and almost bolted out of there until Iwaizumi called him over. It was kind of cute. Kyoutani would probably punch him if he said that out loud, though. Or act super homophobic. Not because he gave off that vibe, but because it’s just Yahaba’s luck to fall for someone like that, honestly. 

It’s his whole family’s luck. 

For generations, the Yahaba family had had very bad luck in the soulmate department. It’s not that they didn’t get soulmates - more often than not, they did, but there was always a hitch before they could be together, a storm before the sun. So, when Yahaba’s sixteenth birthday rolled around, he wasn’t surprised when no ink showed up on his wrist. His sister had the same issue on her birthday - she got hers just a few months ago, on her 22nd birthday. So, he knew his would probably come late, if at all. He felt awful for his possible soulmate, though, who probably wouldn’t get their tattoo until later, either. 

So, on his seventeenth birthday, Yahaba Shigeru wasn’t expecting anything to show up on his skin. He had a fun time with the team, and it was nice that Kyoutani showed up for it. He even saw the blond boy smile, and that was enough of a birthday present, as far as he was concerned. 

Yahaba didn’t have an exact moment where he realized he liked Kyoutani. It was more of a steady flow from annoyance to tolerable to friend-maybe? Then that all escalated to shit-he-had-a-crush. When the boy first started coming to practice more regularly, he noticed little things, and it was probably what pushed him over the edge. Kyoutani perks up slightly when Yahaba praised him for a good spike, though his expression remains unreadable. Kyoutani listens to a lot of different music, but he has a taste for classical and jazz. It was a pleasant surprise. He really, really liked dogs (‘But if you tell Oikawa about that you’re dead.’ Kyoutani had added gruffly when he pulled Yahaba aside to pet a bulldog). He had a fondness for all animals, actually. His hands twitched when he was nervous. He didn’t often blush, but when he did, it was super noticeable and adorable, and Yahaba was so, so incredibly screwed. 

He tended to cover up his feelings with snarky remarks and playful banter, but people like Watari and Oikawa knew better. Slowly, Kyoutani was too. When he had a particularly bad day, Kyoutani would always grunt out something unintelligible and mutter ‘after practice’, and they would both stay late, letting out their anger and frustrations on the ball. Or, on their way home, they would stop at a corner store, get something to eat, and just talk for what seemed like ages. They understood each other. It was both exhilarating and terrifying, like when his stomach dropped on a rollercoaster. 

At the party, Kyoutani had been acting weirdly, his insults coming slower and lacking their usual bite. It was strange, to say the least, and Yahaba thought he probably fucked something up. His friend’s gaze, normally piercing and dark, felt off, as if he was willing something on Yahaba’s face into existence. It seemed Oikawa noticed too, giving the younger setter pointed accompanied with smug grins that he didn’t know what to make of. 

Today was good, but weird. 

But it didn’t get rid of the fact that he didn’t have a soulmate. ‘Not yet, at least,’ was what his mother had reassured him. ‘It’s worth it, you’ll see,’ said his sister, when she and her soulmate came to visit. ‘You still might not even have one,’ said a small part of his brain, ever the pessimist. Usagi rested her head on Yahaba’s lap, her tail thumping rhythmically as her innocent brown eyes looked up at him. He smiled softly, petting his dog. She always cheered him up a little, no matter the day. That’s why he was at the park this late, anyway - he needed some time alone, so he went here on the guise of walking Usagi. He went here when he needed to think, and the park often became a place of refuge for him. He sighed as he stared at the inky sky, willing the answers to appear that would never come. 

And yet, the sky answered him, when he felt a light breeze come through and an invisible force against his wrist. His gaze snapped down to his wrist as he watched ink appear on his skin, disbelief coloring his features as he hung on every letter. The tattoo was in a scribbled font, the coloring shifting from a pale yellow to a light blue. It was calming to Yahaba, but he laughed at the words, since they contrasted the colors so ironically. He was on cloud nine, drinking in the happy news that he did, in fact, have a soulmate. 

Usagi suddenly lifted her head from Yahaba’s lap, her tail wagging as he bounded up and behind her owner. Surprised, and a little upset from returning to reality, he turned around to see a figure - he couldn’t quite make their face out, it was dark, but they sat down on their knees and started to pet the happy dog, who immediately fell to the ground and demanded belly rubs. The figure chuckled and obliged, sitting down on the grass, before looking up at him. 

“What the fuck are you doing here, Yahaba? It’s late.” A familiar, gruff voice asked him, and his eyes finally adjusted enough to see the figure. It was Kyoutani, in a light blue t-shirt and gray shorts. His eyes were wary, blinking in surprise at Yahaba before looking down at the dog and softening. The tense posture and ‘scary’ aura that he donned at school and practice had all but vanished. Kyoutani seemed almost vulnerable, and it made Yahaba feel special that he could see this side of his teammate. 

But time had frozen as he slowly took in Kyoutani’s words, and noticed something that he hadn’t taken into account - Kyoutani’s naked wrists, free from a soulmate tattoo. His brown eyes slowly met hazel, the latter’s filling with confusion as they met. The words on Yahaba’s wrist, freshly inked and ironic and completely Kyoutani matched the words he spoke a few seconds ago, though for Yahaba it could have been a lifetime. 

“What the fuck.” He whispered softly, and a small fire was lit in Aoba Jousai’s Mad Dog before the same mystical breeze hit the two boys. A small part of Yahaba’s mind filled with satisfaction to see the anger wiped off Kyoutani’s face, but his expression, along with the rest of his body, remained stunned. Usagi whined slightly, sad that the wing spiker had stopped petting her. That seemed to snap him out of it slightly, and his jaw began to work instead of gaping, but not in the way the setter would have liked. Instead, his limbs moves to run, and there was no way in hell Yahaba was letting him run away from this - from them. 

“Like hell you’re running away from this!” Yahaba hissed as he grabbed Kyoutani’s hand, pulling him back and forcing the wing spiker to face him. 

“What do you want me to say, then? That fate fucked up?” Kyoutani growled, his voice raising and his stance defensive. Fight or flight - there was only one option now, and they were both all too familiar with it, but the setter’s anger was momentarily replaced by confusion due to Kyoutani’s words. 

“Why would I want you to say that? Because we’re seventeen? Because we’re both guys?” Yahaba asked, complete bewilderment overtaking his previous rage. 

“No, because you hate me.” Kyoutani stated, as if this was an unchangeable fact of life, and Yahaba’s thoughts grew even clumsier. 

“I don’t hate you, though,” Yahaba said cautiously, and Kyoutani looked at him dubiously. “I haven’t really hated you for a while now. We’ve been getting to know each other better lately, right? And we haven’t fought as much. Up until now, I thought I could call you a friend.” Kyoutani visibly flinched at that, and Yahaba immediately felt guilty about how he worded that. He was about to correct himself, but Kyoutani beat him to the punch. 

“So, then what are we?” Kyoutani asked, a hesitant tone mixed in with his cooling rage that the setter had never heard before. It sounded so vulnerable, so unlike Kyoutani.

“It’s up to you, is what I was going to say.” Yahaba offered, and it was true. He didn’t want to start anything that the wing spiker was uncomfortable with or unwilling to do, so it would be better if he chose. With a grunt, Kyoutani finally sat back down next to Yahaba, though he momentarily distracted by Usagi, who was demanding attention. He obliged for a little bit, but stopped after the dog settled down on his lap. Then, he looked at his wrist for a few moments. After, he held an open hand out to Yahaba, a silent question. Accepting, Yahaba held out his own wrist, and Kyoutani held them together so that both boys could look at them. Both had the same gradient - pale yellow to light blue. Yahaba’s had the messy scrawl ‘What the fuck are you doing here, Yahaba? It’s late,’ and Kyoutani’s had ‘What the fuck,’ written in a neat print. 

“They’re shitty tattoos,” Kyoutani snorted, his face unreadable except for a flash in his eyes, maybe relief? For what, Yahaba couldn’t tell. “Probably would have to cover them for job interviews, because of the swears.” 

“Yeah, well, we both have to do it, so we’ll suffer together,” Yahaba grinned, but his joking tone soon left. “Yours isn’t green.” He murmured in a hush. 

“No shit, Sherlock,” Kyoutani grumbled, his voice then quieting. “Neither is yours, you know.” After a moment, Yahaba groaned, covering his eyes with his hands and falling back onto the grass. 

“Just say it.” The brunet whined, his voice muffled through his hands.

“I’m not saying it, you say it!” Kyoutani recoiled, a faint pink staining his cheeks.

“Why do I have to say it?” Yahaba sputtered indignantly. 

“... Because I can’t read you, and I don’t want to be wrong on this.” Kyoutani mumbled begrudgingly. 

“Well, you’re no walk in the park either.” Yahaba huffed. 

“Fuck you.” Kyoutani snapped. 

“Wow, I’m trembling in fear.” Yahaba said sarcastically with an eyeroll hidden behind his hands. 

“Ugh, do you want romantic or platonic?” Kyoutani asked reluctantly after a moment. 

“I told you that it was up to you! Either is fine with me!” Yahaba exclaimed, his voice raising as he spoke. It was technically true, he’d be fine with a platonic relationship between the two of them, but he’d much prefer romantic. 

“Fucking hell, Yahaba! Fine! I want romantic! I want to do all the stupid mushy relationship shit, and I have since long before these fucking tattoos!” Kyoutani roared in the heat of the moment, and Yahaba’s hands flew off of his face to stare at Kyoutani, whose eyes were burning into his own, challenging him. 

“Good, me too! Date me?” The setter yelled back, despite their closeness, and he couldn’t help but grin. 

“Fuck yes!” Kyoutani yelled back, but his rage had ebbed as soon as the words left his, and his expression shone with disbelief and hope. “Wait, what? Really?” 

“Yeah,” Yahaba said, a euphoric smile on his face that he couldn’t shake off even if he wanted to. “See, was that so bad?” He teased, and Kyoutani shrugged, uncommitted as he ducked his head down to try (and fail) to hide his small smile.

“So why’d we get our tattoos now, and not a year ago?” Kyoutani asked, turning back to face Yahaba.

“Oh, right - soulmate mishaps run in the family.” Yahaba stated vaguely.

“Mishaps?” Kyoutani echoed, his eyebrows arched in question as he pet Usagi. 

“Yeah, my sister - she’s twenty-two, she finally got hers a few months back. My parent’s were written upside-down and backwards. You could barely make out my grandfather’s tattoo, but I think it’s because of my grandma’s horrible handwriting. Don’t tell her I said that when you meet her, she’ll have my head. Either way, there always seems to be something that goes wrong before it goes right.” Yahaba rambled. Kyoutani hummed in understanding before finally speaking.

“Just thought I’d never have one.” Kyoutani mumbled nonchalantly, and Yahaba finally understood why his soulmate wanted to run away when they realized what they were. He probably thought that no one would ever want to be with him, that he’s too scary, or not good enough. Then, only confirming this, he never got a tattoo on his sixteenth birthday, so he believed that there was no one that wanted him in any way. And, now that he had finally gotten his tattoo, a year late, it told him that his soulmate was a boy who he thought hated his very existence. It hurt to think about what Kyoutani went though, and Yahaba was determined to make those thoughts stop in both their minds. 

“Well, you do. And you’re stuck with me now.” The setter said with a smile, nudging Kyoutani with his shoulder. Kyoutani slowly turned to face the setter, his expression unreadable, but the back of his neck and the tips of his ears were red, giving him away. 

“You’re still an asshole.” Kyoutani grumbled, and the mock hurt on Yahaba’s face made him crack a smirk. 

“We were having a moment, Kyoutani, c’mon, read the mood.” Yahaba whined. 

“What mood?” Kyoutani snorted, the smirk deepening. 

“Ugh, never mind, you couldn’t read any mood if it was spelled out in front of you.” Yahaba quipped, happy that they were falling back into routine, albeit more teasing than throwing each other up against walls and screaming their lungs out. 

“Fuck you.” Kyoutani huffed, a small grin on his face.

“Maybe later.” Yahaba retorted immediately, without thinking, before he sucked in his breath and nervously looked at his soulmate. A blush painted both of their cheeks, and he preened at the fact that he could make the great Kyoutani Kentarou flustered. 

“I-you-just… Shut up.” He stuttered, clearly conflicted between embarrassment and annoyance. This was going to be fun. 

“So... What now?” Yahaba asked, genuinely curious. 

“I dunno.” Kyoutani replied, absentmindedly petting the Usagi. A comfortable silence enveloped the two of them as they sat on the grass, watching the sky in tranquility. 

“... So I like your dog.” Kyoutani began awkwardly.

“Oh my god.”

Epilogue 

“You don’t have to do this, you know.” Kyoutani said, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand as they stood in his doorway. Despite his family’s apparently frequent efforts (that Yahaba was unaware of until two days ago), they had never met their son’s soulmate. 

“I know, I want to.” Yahaba replied easily, squeezing Kyoutani’s hand in return, a clear gesture of reassurance. 

Two days ago, they were sitting in Yahaba’s room, having just returned from a dinner with Yahaba’s sister, who absolutely adored Kyoutani. The feeling was mutual. She even helped him with eyeliner techniques, which was what they originally bonded over. Now, she knows how to perfectly smudge it to get it to seem effortlessly styled, and Kyoutani knows how to make wings so sharp they could kill a man. But, this had brought up a question in the brunet's mind. 

“Hey, why haven’t I met your family yet? You’ve met mine, it’s been a good few months.” The setter asked, his eyes shining with curiosity. He had not expected his boyfriend to groan and fall backwards onto the bed. 

“Damnit,” He groaned, giving no explanation to the sudden mood change. “I told Kosei that as soon as you asked about them, I’d bring you over.” 

“So… I just haven’t met them because I didn’t bring it up?” Yahaba asked, relief flooding his tone. He had been worried that Kyoutani’s family wasn’t supportive of same-sex relationships, even though they were soulmates. 

“Well, yeah. ‘Figured that if you brought it up, you’d want to meet them. I think that Grandma and Kosei would have rioted if it didn’t happen soon, though, so maybe it’s better that you did.” Kyoutani grumbled in thought. Humming contently, the setter leaned back with his soulmate and cuddled into him, earning a grunt and a blush in response. Soon after, the wing spiker called his mother (who had put him on speaker phone at his request) to tell her the news, and the setter laughed when he heard whoops echo from the Kyoutani family. 

They stood on the doorstep of Kyoutani’s house. It was a simple, two-story house that was near identical to the rest on the block, except it had well-cared-for flowers covering almost every inch of the porch and window sills. The windows were open, and Yahaba could smell something meat-y, possibly a stew, wafting into the night air from inside the house. It smelled delicious, and Yahaba couldn’t wait for dinner. The lights were on, and gave the building a home-y, golden glow. 

“You ready?” Kyoutani asked, and Yahaba nodded, both excited and nervous to meet his soulmate’s family. Giving him a small half-smile, the blond boy readied to ring the doorbell, but was cut off by the door swinging open, revealing a tall boy who looked to be in his twenties with a pair of familiarly colored amber-caramel eyes and light brown hair. Yahaba knew immediately that this must be Kyoutani Kosei. 

“Ah, you were taking to long, Kentarou,” Kosei whined, a shit-eating grin resting on his face as Kyoutani rolled his (perfectly lined) eyes. “Well? Introduce us.” 

“Kosei, this is Yahaba Shigeru, my soulmate. Shigeru, this is Kyoutani Kosei, my asshole older brother.” Kyoutani introduced reluctantly, his eyes flashing. 

“Nice to meet you, Kosei-san.” Yahaba said, an easy smile on his face that Kosei returned. 

“And you, Yahaba-kun. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the person who can stand my brother for more than five minutes who is not within our immediate family.” Kosei flashed a devious grin as Kyoutani growled defensively, but they all knew that it had no bite. Yahaba chuckled softly, and the wing spiker’s gaze zeroed in on him. 

“Is that the boys, Kosei? Stop hogging them and bring them in!” A feminine voice rang out from inside the house, and Kosei stepped aside to allow them to enter. 

“Don’t want to keep Grandma waiting,” Kosei said with a sly grin, and Kyoutani half-growled menacingly at him. “Manners, Kentarou~!” Suddenly, with Kosei's words, the setter was having vivid flashbacks of volleyball practice and Oikawa’s famous trilling of more suicide drills. 

“No wonder you can’t stand Oikawa,” Yahaba murmured to his soulmate quietly. “He and Kosei could have been separated at birth.” Kyoutani grimaced and nodded gravely as they took off their shoes and went into the kitchen, where three figures were waiting for them, along with Kosei. 

There was a tall man standing over a stew pot, stirring it dutifully before his gaze fell on the two. He had the same, light-colored hair as Kosei, but his eyes were a dark brown, the light dancing off of them joyfully. Two women sat at the table, both turning in anticipation to see Yahaba. One was middle-aged, and her dark hair fell down to her shoulders. As she made eye contact with Yahaba, he could see the crinkles and laugh lines near them, but that didn’t take away from her youthful aura. She also shared the same warm, caramel eyes as the two brothers. The other woman was older, perhaps in her seventies, but her eyes were as youthful as the other woman’s, dark and sparkling with mischief. Her silvery-brown hair was tied up into an elegant bun. 

“You must be Yahaba-kun,” The older woman said knowingly, a smile on her face. “I’m Kentarou’s Grandmother, but you may call me Yume. This is my daughter, Kyoutani Shiroi,” Yume gestured to the other woman, Kyoutani’s mother. “And this is my son-in-law, Kyoutani Minato.” She gestured to the man cooking, who must be Kyoutani’s father. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you all.” Yahaba said politely. 

“Please, the pleasure is ours! We were wondering when Kentarou was going to stop hoarding you-” Shiori started cheerfully, only to be cut off by her younger son. 

“Mom!” Kyoutani snapped, a blush on the tips of his ears. 

“Sorry, dear, you know it’s my job to embarrass you!” Shiori apologized, not looking or sounding sorry at all. 

“Perfect timing, you two, dinner is just about ready. Please, sit down.” Minato addressed the two boys whine pouring soup into some bowls and passing it out to the table. 

“It looks very good, thank you for having me.” Yahaba said, but suddenly a scratch from the back door interrupted them. 

“Kentarou, can you let your dog in?” Shiori asked, and her son nodded, a small smile on his face as he made his way to the door, and Yahaba knew that this was a large part of the test. Kyoutani absolutely adored his dog, and it was a big part of his life. If the dog didn’t like his soulmate, it would make things very hard for future endeavors. Shivering from nerves and anticipation, he heard his boyfriend unlock the door and a scrambling of paws, paused only to unhook the tie-out from outside. Then, a tiny blur of white and black came rushing to the table, making its rounds before it skidded to a halt at the brown-haired setter. 

Well. 

Kyoutani never did tell him what breed his dog was, but he wasn’t really expecting this. 

Wriggling in excitement at Yahaba’s feet was a small boston terrier, nubbed tail quickening at even the slightest movement, its bugged eyes staring at the boy with pure joy. With a charmed grin, Yahaba moved to pet the dog, but it quickly jumped up onto his lap and looked at the boy expectantly. Obliging, he started to pet the dog. 

“Hello to you too, Kara,” Yahaba chuckled along with Kyoutani’s family, reading the dog’s name from her collar. “Wait, Ken... You didn’t-” Yahaba started with glee as Kyoutani returned warily, relief imminent for a few short moments when he saw his dog on his soulmate’s lap, but it vanished at the other boy’s words. 

“Look, I was in sixth grade-” Kyoutani groaned, already knowing what his boyfriend was about to point out (and dreading it).

“He did!” Kosei grinned, winking at Yahaba, whose eyes were shining with mirth as he pet Kara.

“Shut up.” Kyoutani grumbled, the tips of his ears a light pink.

“You named your dog-” Yahaba started, grinning uncontrollably, and the rest of the Kyoutani family (minus the youngest) was struggling to hold back their laughter, as well. 

“Don’t say it-” Kyoutani interrupted desperately, but it was too late. 

“After Kara Age-kun?” Yahaba finished gleefully, Kara herself barking at the brunet’s raised volume. Kyoutani sat down next to his boyfriend and banged his head against the table with a sigh mixed with resignation and embarrassment. Noticing how this was not a denial, the table started howling with laughter, and Kara joined in, barking on Yahaba’s lap. 

“Traitor.” Kyoutani harshly whispered to the dog, who in turn licked Kyoutani’s face.

“I like him, Kentarou.” Shiori said through her giggles, and Yahaba gave her a megawatt smile. 

The rest of the dinner was highlighted by Minato’s amazing stew, funny childhood stories begrudgingly told by Kyoutani himself, and the usual ask-the-boyfriend/soulmate-questions: 

“Where did you guys meet?” Shiori asked as they ate their soup.

“Technically in middle school, we played a match against each other, but really at volleyball club for Aoba Jousai.” Yahaba replied, and it seemed to satisfy her.

“What do you want to do for a living?” Minato questioned.

“Be a teacher, probably for math. I’m not sure about grade level yet.” Minato nodded in approval.

“First Impression?” Kosei asked, and Yahaba hesitated before deciding to go with the honest answer rather than a fake one.

“I thought he was an asshole.” Yahaba admitted, and Kosei nearly choked on his soup that he was eating due to the burst of laughter bubbling up. The rest of the table looked at least vaguely amused, as well.

“Well, I was kind of an asshole.” Kyoutani relented, and his family’s amused looks only grew. 

“Was?” Kosei muttered slyly. 

“Fuck off.” Kyoutani grumbled to his brother, and none of them could hold back their laughter this time. After dinner, Yahaba had insisted on helping clean up, so he, the Kyoutani women, and Kosei all were washing and drying dishes at the sink while the rest of them were in the family room. Apparently Kyoutani had helped with the food until he went to pick up Yahaba, so they were abiding by the rule of ‘If you didn’t make dinner, you have to clean up’. 

“So… Are we going to have the ‘If you hurt him we’ll kill you’ discussion now or later?” Yahaba quipped, and to his relief, the women and Kosei laughed. 

“I think that’s more implied, dear,” Yume smiled. “Besides, I have a feeling you’ll be good for him.” 

“He’s already opened up so much to you, dear.” Shiori agreed as she washed a large pot.

“You two are pushovers. If you hurt him I will organize the hunt, pitchforks and everything.” Kosei announced, and they all laughed. For a little while afterwards, he sat in the family room with Kyoutani’s family, before his own mother called him and said that he should be getting back home. 

“I can drive you back.” Kyoutani offered. 

“Thanks,” Yahaba started, turning to the rest of his soulmate’s family. “It was nice to finally meet you all, thank you for having me!” They chorused their well-wishes as the two stepped out the door, but not before Yahaba could give Kara one last ear-scratch. As Kyoutani closed the door, he sighed with a mixture of relief and exhaustion clearly present. 

“Did they like me?” Yahaba asked worriedly as they got into the car, and Kyoutani chuckled. 

“Of course they did, how could they not?” Kyoutani replied immediately, as if he didn’t even have to think about it. His face burning, Yahaba shoved Kyoutani lightly in the shoulder as they drove off. 

“Thanks, Ken.” Yahaba said shyly, a soft smile on his face. 

“So,” Kyoutani prompted nervously. “Did you like them?” Yahaba was about to reply with ‘Yes, of course, your mother and grandmother are lively and sweet and your father is an amazing cook and Kosei is a piece of work but he really cares about you,’ but he thought of the last member of the family and grinned devilishly at his boyfriend. 

“... So I like your dog.” Yahaba grinned, and Kyoutani groaned into the night, the backs of his ears pink from remembering the night they became soulmates, his awkward conversation starter following him ever since. 

“Fuck off.” Kyoutani grumbled, but there was a small smile on his face that brought a wave of fondness to wash over Yahaba. 

“Hey, Ken?” Yahaba asked, and the wing spiker’s gaze fell on him as he pulled the car into park outside of Yahaba’s driveway. 

“I love you.” Yahaba simply said, the fond smile still present on the setter’s face. Kyoutani’s face went (to Yahaba’s infinite pleasure) from tanned to a brilliant red in a span of a few seconds, and even though his soulmate hadn’t said anything yet, the setter could see the joy and affection in Kyoutani’s warm amber eyes. 

“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> *whispers, wrapped in blankets in the corner of my bed* I hope they aren't too OOC  
> Doggos. Pups. Bless them. Too good for this world, too pure.   
> OPTIONS~~~~ 
> 
> A) KenHina (platonic, not started)   
> B) AsaNoya (kinda started, I'm sorry it's not done, Asahi is Hard To Write and I'm suffering)   
> C) BokuAkaKuroTsukki (not started)   
> D) BoKuroo (finished)   
> E) IwaOiMatsuHana (not started)   
> F) Other, hit me up fam ;)))) 
> 
> My tumblr is decadentcandyeagle if you wanna chat :D  
> AND IF ANY OF YOU MAKE FANART FOR ANY OF THESE WHOOBOY TELL ME PLEASE OMG  
> I hope you all enjoyed this installment of Inked At Midnight, see you next time babes!


End file.
